I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

52 Ways to Save $100 a Month | Turn Off the Lights {Week 48 of 52}

The links in the post below may be affiliate links. Read the full disclosureBy Mavis Butterfield on November 29, 2016 · 3 Comments

Welcome to my 52 Ways to Save $100 a Month series. We’re serious about saving money in 2016. Sometimes it’s the little things and sometimes it’s the big things. I’m here to walk you through some little things that can add up to BIG savings. 52 little things to be exact.

Growing up, my mom would always harp on us to shut the lights off when we left a room. Seemed silly to me because I couldn’t see the point. Now that I’m older, I’m a total light freak! Not only do I make sure we shut off every light in the house before we leave, I also take advantage of natural light so I can shut lights off even when we are home!

Turn The Lights Off: This really takes a second to do. When you walk out of a room, flip the switch. Before you head out for the day, do a quick sweep of the house and shut off all the lights. So simple and yet such a great way to save a little dough!

Pretend You’re a Pilgrim and Never Use Them: I LOVE natural light. It just puts me in a great mood. I love to open all the blinds and shut off lights whenever I can. One of the ways I save on my energy bill is by doing that very thing and taking advantage of the natural light in our home. Even though I get up early to work on the blog {most days around 4am} I am able to turn off my office light around 8am. I open all blinds and let the light shine in. I work by the light of the sun until I can no longer see, and then I call it a day.

How Much Can You Save: Varies. The lighting in our homes accounts for, on average, 10% of our total energy use in the average American home and can add up to about $150-$300 per year in electricity, depending on your house size. While cutting that down might not result in a huge amount of money in your pocket, I’d take even an extra $50 if all I had to do was remember to flip a switch. Seems like a pretty good payday for zero inconvenience.

This made me think of my grandmother. If we left a light o , usually the bathroom light,Moshe would holler “Guilty”! We’d always know someone left the light on. Now, I catch myself almost doing that to my 85 yo MIL. LOL I haven’t yet.